Part 1 of 5

How it works on the tongue

Sugar, tannin and temperature, and what each of them does between the glass and the swallow.

For a practical operations perspective on coordinating people and schedules, this Monitask guide offers a concise companion guide.

• 1.1Why a dry red and a sweet chocolate fight
  The wine must be at least as sweet as the food. Everything else in this entry is a qualification of that sentence.
• 1.2Tannin and fat: what happens in the mouth
  Astringency is not a flavour. You are noticing the absence of lubrication that was there a moment ago.
• 1.3Temperature, the variable nobody measures
  Every serving range is below the temperature of a heated room, which is what twenty minutes in the fridge is for.
• 1.4The order you taste in, and why it is not etiquette
  Every part of the conventional order is about not destroying your ability to taste the next thing.
• 1.5What a finish is, and why chocolate lengthens it
  It is a smell you are having through the back of your face, which is why holding your nose removes almost all of it.

For further context, see UC Davis overview of wine composition.